Open mike 16/05/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 16th, 2015 - 45 comments
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45 comments on “Open mike 16/05/2015 ”

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  1. phillip ure 1
    16 May 2015 at 7:46 am

    this one is about the british labour party, – and the new zealand labour party..

    ..both lost/mired in a swamp of failed neoliberalism – both of them..

    http://whoar.co.nz/2015/labour-is-in-deep-crisis-and-trite-guff-wont-save-it-ed-this-about-the-british-labour-party-and-the-new-zealand-labour-party/

    • weka 1.1
      16 May 2015 at 8:26 am

      More link whoring without content from phil. Here’s the direct link to the Guardian article on the British Labour Party.

      http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/15/labour-history-leadership

      • phillip ure 1.1.1
        16 May 2015 at 8:41 am

        more lying-attack from weka – my link contains my comments/references to nz labour party..

        the guardian article is the foundation-stone i work off..

        u.r talking complete shite..

        ..it must be a day ending in a ‘y’..

        ..my record here shows i direct-link when i have nothing to say – and via me when i do..

        ..and the above that you whinge about – is most certainly the latter..

        (how about you apologise/withdraw for this blatant/provable-lie:

        ‘More link whoring without content from phil.’..

        ..that is a total fucken lie/false-accusation..)

        • Kevin 1.1.1.1
          16 May 2015 at 8:44 am

          Then why not include both links Phil? Those that are interested in what you have to say can go to your site and those who are not can go directly to the source.

          • phillip ure 1.1.1.1.1
            16 May 2015 at 8:51 am

            ok..i’ll do that..

            u.r shortlisted for todays’ good-idea award..

            ..i’ll give readers a whoar-contagion-free option as well..

            (it will also relieve them of the pressure of that extra click..

            ..’oh..!..the humanity..!’..)

        • weka 1.1.1.2
          16 May 2015 at 9:09 am

          “my link contains my comments/references to nz labour party”

          Yes, but they don’t actually say anything.

          Here’s the translated version from dog’s breakfast to English,

          Labour is in deep crisis – and trite guff won’t save it

          phil: this about the british labour party – and the new zealand labour party

          Guardian: The party’s leadership contenders seem unaware of the size of the task ahead of them – and what is required to tackle profound long-term social change.

          phil: This is about the british labour party – but it is also about the new zealand labour party. They find themselves in similar thralls, and if looking for local ‘trite-guff’ you need look no further than the rcent speeches from andrew little and grant robertson, aspirational-bullshit-on-a-stick – both of them

          Sorry, but ‘NZ Labour are naff and have a big job ahead of them, like UK Labour, just look at Robertson’ hardly counts as content.

          Draco’s been calling you out on the link whoring, this is just another example.

          • phillip ure 1.1.1.2.1
            16 May 2015 at 9:17 am

            can anyone else hear a low-pitched whine..?

          • phillip ure 1.1.1.2.2
            16 May 2015 at 10:07 am

            so ..by yr posting of that content…you clearly admit yr claim of ‘no content’ on my part was a total lie on your part..

            ..you just don’t like the content of that content..

            ..there is a difference..

            ..are you intellectually-capable of differentiating between the two…?

            …is there an adult nearby who cd explain it to you..?

            • weka 1.1.1.2.2.1
              16 May 2015 at 10:10 am

              I’ve made my point, not going to rehash it.

              • phillip ure …
                16 May 2015 at 10:52 am

                that’s the whole thing about you weka..

                ..you so often have no bloody ‘point’..

                ..and this is one of them..

                ..so you can tell an outright/blatant/provable-lie about me..

                ..and when called on it..

                ..you refuse to further discuss the subject..?

                ..r u fucken kidding me..?

            • Realblue 1.1.1.2.2.2
              16 May 2015 at 10:33 am

              Yes, it’s your bubble slowly deflating.

          • The Murphey 1.1.1.2.3
            16 May 2015 at 10:09 am

            Q. What is it that concerns you about the linking ?

  2. Ad 2
    16 May 2015 at 9:06 am

    Mayor Brown’s decision to accede to government pressure and sign some transport accord similar to the Housing Accord is dangerous.

    Auckland Council – together with every other council in the country – has just gone through a statutory process over the last three months to mandate a transport programme, and put their bids up to the National Land Transport Plan. It was the largest local public consultation ever done in New Zealand. This nationwide plan will be announced on June 30th. The evaluation of priorities is set and agreed between every council and the New Zealand Transport Agency. The law detailing this massive process – the Land Transport Management Act – was only revised last year.

    Central government cannot override the process that it has just asked every other elected body in the country to undergo, because all bids are in, all Council rates are set, all roading and public transport contracts are ready to go for the new financial year.

    Nor can any Minister change this process without changing the law.

    If central government wants to change Auckland’s transport priorities, it should have done so as the plans were being formed. In case we forget, Auckland Transport is one of the largest commercial entities in the country, commanding about $14billion worth of assets, running a system using about 40% of the country’s transport budget and about 60% of Council’s budget. Not even the Prime Minister can hold up his hand and command this supertanker to stop.

    Mayor Brown could remind the government of how it complained that Auckland Council is spending too much on the centre of the city. This government’s sole direct economic development investment is precisely in the centre of the city: the Sky City Convention Centre. The government needs to be called out on this.

    Mayor Brown could also remind the government that if they don’t like heavy rail investments, they should do the decent thing and subject their motorway projects – at a fair discount rate – to the same scrutiny and be prepared to reallocate that funding if it serves Auckland’s growth needs.

    I hope this is depoliticized quickly by getting officials to agree the evaluative criteria on such things as:

    – benefit discount rates
    – the projected growth of Auckland
    – the projected housing demand of Auckland
    – the value of congestion in benefit evaluation
    – the role of public transport in stabilizing and decreasing road congestion
    – the set of means towards highest productivity of the road corridor
    – the balance between congestion and productivity
    – the value of access and choice

    We should not have got to this point, but since we have, we should negotiate hard.

  3. phillip ure 3
    16 May 2015 at 9:26 am

    i think as part of a longterm suite of solutions to aucklands’ inevitable growth wd be a fast-train to whangarei..(that cd stop at warkworth and wellsford..)..wd work..

    ..to many the choice of sitting in an internet-friendly train for the same time they wd spend in a traffic-jam from the outer suburbs of auckland – wd be a no-brainer..

    ..it wd also help tourism in whangarei/the north..as the trip itself wd be a tourist attraction..wd take tourists into the heart of whangarei..(which most now byepass..)

    ..and wd feed those tourists further north..

    ..plus whangarei gets all those support-industries for the tourists etc..

    ..what’s not to love about all that..?

    • greywarshark 3.1
      16 May 2015 at 10:07 am

      @ phillip u
      Sounds good. And introduce a toll on the expensive holiday highway so it pays something towards its cost and that money can help fund the railway that will push people further north.

      And part of the services could be a drive-on freight carriage on the train that will carry cars and trucks right through to Whangarei.

      There could be a performance of Maori poi and singing that passengers could enjoy as part of the North experience and to be a point of difference for the trip. They could be strolling players going through the carriages, and be ambassadors for the Maori of the north. This could be paid for by the local tourism bodies in the North towns, not by the railway. It would be a symbiotic arrangement between KiwiRail and the North.
      edited

  4. greywarshark 4
    16 May 2015 at 9:48 am

    This morning on Radionz – some great interviews.
    First with a woman who offers much background on the wars and battles that constantly break out in the Middle East and elsewhere.
    And secondly with another woman whose name is Sara from Bangladesh who is an activist there and is under pressure from thugs.
    The link will go up soon. I’ll try to get back and put up the one to the Thieves of State author below.

    8:15 Sarah Chayes; corruption and security
    Sarah Chayes is an expert in kleptocracy, anti-corruption, and civil-military relations, with ten years’ experience in Afghanistan. She is a former NPR correspondent, and special adviser to the chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is currently a senior associate in the Democracy and Rule of Law Program and the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment. She helped set up the Arghand Cooperative in Afghanistan which produces hand-crafted soap, and her new book is Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security (W.W. Norton).
    Photo: Kaveh Sardari

  5. SMILIN 5
    16 May 2015 at 10:37 am

    Just dandy our Rockstar Economy well yes if you look at the price of participating in the “club” a bit like premiere tickets to a supergroup way out of most peoples price range and at a minimum a stretch for most
    So “yes” we have a rockstar economy a bit like the last days of Rome and Money for Nothin OR Nothin for your money except pay the piper
    A bit like how Id like to see this govt “I cant Dance and I cant Talk the only thing I like about it is to finally see John Key walk ”
    OUTTA HERE

  6. Chooky 6
    16 May 2015 at 11:12 am

    Zukerberg has plans to control internet …and Zukerberg is in trouble for privacy violations in Europe

    https://nofakeinternet.org/?src=157762

    ‘No respect for users, no precise answers:’ Facebook privacy policies slammed by Belgian watchdog’

    http://rt.com/news/259029-facebook-ingnores-privacy-laws/

    “A Belgian privacy watchdog says that Facebook is flouting European privacy laws by tracking people without their consent, including those who have not even registered with the social networking site.

    The Belgian Privacy Protection Commission (CPVP/CBPL) launched the scathing attack after carrying out an investigation into the US tech giant’s practices. Preliminary recommendations were published on Friday.

    Facebook would not explain in detail how it uses the data it collects from individuals online and there are also problems with plug-ins, some of which can affect people who don’t even have a Facebook account, the commission said. One of the plug-ins under scrutiny was the ‘Like’ button…..”

  7. Shane Le Brun 7
    16 May 2015 at 11:49 am

    As you guys have been aware of my stance on Medical Cannabis due to my blogging, I would like to announce we are taking it to the next level as a charitable trust.
    Please check out our website and consider helping fund this new angle on the issue of Medical Cannabis.

    http://unitedincompassion.org.nz/2015/05/15/united-in-compassion-seed-funding-give-a-little/ Please donate to advance the cause of Medical Cannabis in NZ.

    • phillip ure 7.1
      16 May 2015 at 12:44 pm

      goodonya..!..i’ll do a story/link to yr fundraiser..

      ..have you had any luck lobbying dunne..?

      • Shane Le Brun 7.1.1
        16 May 2015 at 12:49 pm

        check the video on the front page of our website….

        • phillip ure 7.1.1.1
          16 May 2015 at 3:58 pm

          r u talking abut the story that links thru to the tvnz story..?

          ..if so dunne has left himself an exit the size of a barn-door..with his insistance in reinventing the wheel – and that it be ‘proven’ to him – the efficacy of med-cannabis..

          ..from your talking to him – is this true – or will seeing all three of sanjay guptas’ vids be enough for him..?

          ..if the former – he can just delay for forever – which is what his big-booze paymasters will want..

          ..do you know which it is..?

          could/should we be mildly optimistic..?

        • phillip ure 7.1.1.2
          16 May 2015 at 5:03 pm

          you might want to push this dunnes’ way..

          ‘The first article to hit the web examines the cannabis treatments for child epilepsy – as a likely path toward legalisation.

          ‘The drug’s ability to reduce seizures in some children – has softened opposition to research – and may someday lead to changes in government policies.”

          Who can argue with a natural, effective way to help children suffer less?

          It works’.

          http://whoar.co.nz/2015/national-geographic-loves-weed-so-much-theyre-devoting-an-entire-print-issue-to-it/

  8. Colonial Rawshark 8
    16 May 2015 at 12:04 pm

    BRICS + Germany pivoting to Asia

    Pepe Escobar again raises points that you will not hear in the corporate MSM.

    Germany now exports 50 percent of its GDP. It used to be only 24 percent in 1990. For the past 10 years, half of German growth depended on exports. Translation: this is a giant economy that badly needs global markets to keep expanding. An ailing EU, by definition, does not fit the bill.

    German exports are changing their recipient address. Only 40 percent – and going down – now goes to the EU; the real growth is in Asia. So Germany, in practice, is moving away from the eurozone. That does not entail Germany breaking up the euro; that would be interpreted as a nasty betrayal of the much-lauded “European project.”

    What the trade picture unveils is the reason for Germany’s hardball with Greece: either you surrender, completely, or you leave the euro. What Germany wants is to keep a partnership with France and dominate Eastern Europe as an economic satellite, relying on Poland. So expect Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy to face a German wall of intransigence. So much for European “integration,” it works as long as Germany dictates all the rules.

    The spanner in the works is that the double fiasco Greece + Ukraine has been exposing. Berlin as an extremely flawed European hegemon – and that’s quite an understatement. Berlin suddenly woke up to the real, nightmarish possibility of a full blown, American-instigated war in Europe’s eastern borderlands against Russia. No wonder Angela Merkel had to fly to Moscow in a hurry.

    Moscow – diplomatically – was the winner. And Russia won again when Turkey – fed up with trying to join the EU and being constantly blocked by, who else, Germany and France – decided to pivot to Eurasia for good, ignoring NATO and amplifying relations with both Russia and China.

    http://russia-insider.com/en/2015/03/04/4088

  9. The Murphey 9
    16 May 2015 at 12:41 pm

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/11/mexico-suspends-infant-vaccines-after-two-babies-die-and-29-fall-ill

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/world/americas/mexico-vaccinations-suspended-after-infant-deaths.html?_r=0

    http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/05/10/world/americas/ap-lt-mexico-deadly-vaccine.html

    Mexico’s public health system has suspended infant vaccines and begun an investigation after two babies died and 29 became ill in an impoverished community in southern Mexico.

    The Mexican institute for social security says six of the 29 babies are in grave condition after receiving vaccinations for tuberculosis, rotavirus and hepatitis B

    Northshoreredoc’s preferred ‘debunk site’ had this to say

    http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/05/14/no-vaccine-reactions-didnt-kill-several-children-in-mexico/

  10. The Murphey 10
    16 May 2015 at 1:29 pm

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-is-too-tolerant-and-should-interfere-more-in-peoples-lives-says-david-cameron-10246517.html

    Britain is too “passively tolerant” and should not leave people to live their lives as they please just because they obey the law, David Cameron has said.

    At the National Security Council today Mr Cameron unveiled a series of measures that he said would crack down on people holding minority “extremist” views that differed from Britain’s consensus.

    “For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens ‘as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone’,” he said.

    Q. What on earth are they up to in Britain ?

  11. The Murphey 11
    16 May 2015 at 1:46 pm

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/11602399/Ban-cash-end-boom-and-bust.html

    Having everyone’s account at a single, central institution allows the authorities to either encourage or discourage people to spend. To boost spending, the bank imposes a negative interest rate on the money in everyone’s account – in effect, a tax on saving.

    Faced with seeing their money slowly confiscated, people are more likely to spend it on goods and services. When this change in behaviour takes place across the country, the economy gets a significant fillip.

    This article appeared on the same day as reference to the David Cameron ‘ Just because you obey the law does not mean we will leave you alone ‘ speech

    I believe the agenda is now undoubtedly clear however I also believe it is desperation which has forced the brazen openness into the mainstream proper

  12. Philip Ferguson 12
    16 May 2015 at 3:12 pm

    “After all the hype about economic recovery in the United States, quarterly data relating to the rate of growth, deficit and productivity are ringing alarm bells throughout the world.

    “In March 2015, the US recorded its biggest monthly trade deficit since the 2008 global financial crisis, fuelling concerns that the economic contraction in the first three months of the year might signal more serious problems. The deficit recorded for goods and services rose to. . .”

    full at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/us-capitalism-more-stagnation-than-recovery/

    Yassamine is a British-based Iranian marxist. See our interview with her on repression and resistance in Iran at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/repression-and-resistance-in-iran-interview-with-yassamine-mather/

    And see her fascinating account of the aftermath of the Iranian revolution (she was in the Fedayeen-minority organisation): https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/09/15/marxism-and-the-iranian-revolution/

    • Colonial Rawshark 12.1
      16 May 2015 at 3:29 pm

      The Iranian theocratic form of government has held up far more effectively and robustly against US empire sponsored military and economic attack on the country than any fractious leftist government could have.

      • Philip Ferguson 12.1.1
        16 May 2015 at 5:31 pm

        Maybe, maybe not.

        However, not so good news for the Iranian masses.

        Phil

  13. Clemgeopin 13
    16 May 2015 at 3:32 pm

    Dick Quax, a right wing disgrace. What a dick!

    Auckland Councillor Dick Quax on social media had an outburst where he suggested to a member of the public it may have been better if they were never born!

    Quax says he regrets his remarks and was “too quick off the mark” in responding to a post from a Facebook user who called him a nutter, and later accused him of having a mental breakdown.

    The comments were made after Quax posted a link to Facebook in support of the charter school system, to which Josh Phoenix replied saying ‘religious nutcases brainwashing children is not education’.

    Quax then fired back with the comment: “If my generation – sounds like the title of a song – made one mistake it’s providing more welfare so that lazy and intolerant people like Josh Phoenix can their spew their hate of anyone’s views that differ from their own on social media. It may have better had your mother remained a virgin”.

    Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/dick-quax-regrets-facebook-outburst-2015051517#ixzz3aGh2NMDG

  14. Morrissey 14
    16 May 2015 at 4:17 pm

    “War crimes? Apartheid? There’s no apartheid going on.”
    If Nazi Germany had had talk radio, it would have sounded like Howard Stern.

    This depressing example of braindead blithering, extreme prejudice and hatred was broadcast in August last year, as Israel systematically slaughtered thousands of trapped people in Gaza, bombing hospitals, schools, mosques and private homes. Note that Stern does not even try to argue his case; it’s nothing but recycled clichés, bizarre inversions of reality and ad hominem bluster.

    Howard Stern RIPS Anti-Israel Celebs Again, Debates Callers – 08/11/14
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Xbxh5pQF0

    He obviously does not know much about the subject, but as we’ve seen from so many radio talk jocks and politicians, that doesn’t stop him from sounding off on this subject….

    “All the ####ing radical nuts…. It’s a shithole, it’s a desert, but the Jews have turned it into something… They’re getting bombed every day…. They’re defending themselves…. Why can’t people see it… Those two idiot actors, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, you don’t hear them say word about Ukraine… As we know they people they’re fighting use children as a human shield. It’s old-fashioned antisemitism, you know that. You’re living in a shithole… That ####er Javier Bardem…Ahhh, I tell ya the whole worlds NUTS. Javier Bardem should stick to banging Penelope Cruz. Jon Voight shamed Penelope Cruz. These maniacs don’t say a word about anything else. All of a sudden they become spokespeople. Jon Voight kind of gets it. It shows you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get it. ”

    Suddenly, out of the blue, Stern starts talking sense for a couple of minutes, about Global Warming.

    Then it’s back to the mad pro-Israel rhetoric. He lets someone called Melrose Larry Green do the talking for him. Melrose Larry Green sounds just like Stern as he shouts down a caller called Hamzi: “You wanna LEARN? Israel is defending itself….” (11:30)

    At 16:00 it goes from disgusting to comical, as he plays a moronic tribute to him by Sarah Palin–“Israel is our only friend over there.”

    At the 21:00 mark, a caller named Ken from Florida remonstrates with Stern, reminding him that not all American Jews support Israel. Stern puts this down to “liberal guilt”, then launches into another ignorant rant that would make Leighton Smith blanch, before shouting Ken down: “Shame on you Ken. War crimes? Apartheid? There’s no apartheid going on. What part of defending yourself do you not understand? By the way, Ken’s calling in from Seminole country, from Florida. ####ing bullshit artist, self-loathing Jew, as far as I’m concerned… Notice that the Arab countries are not saying much about what Israel is doing. These ####ing Hamas guys are so out of control that they’re glad Israel is cleaning out the rats nest.”

    et cetera, ad hominem, ad absurdum, ad nauseam…..

  15. phillip ure 15
    16 May 2015 at 5:18 pm

    interview on ‘focus on politics’ on national radio..

    ..hear little asked about poverty –

    – and how he answers by saying labour will support entrepeneurs..

    ..he does a duck and weave worthy of a champion limbo-dancer..

    ..to avoid answering the actual question..

    (and slack-journalism on the part of the interviewer – for not pressing for an answer..)

    ..and you reckon my depictions of where little/labour (national-lite/fuck-the-poor!) are at aren’t accurate..?

    ..really..?

    • felix 15.1
      17 May 2015 at 2:08 am

      What was the question?

      • phillip ure 15.1.1
        17 May 2015 at 6:48 am

        a generalist question around what wd labour do about poverty..

        littles’ answer was a re-run of clarks’ deserving and undeserving-families riff/routine..

        ..he banged on about how labour has always encouraged people to transition to work..

        ..you should be able to hear it on the rnz website – and to my ears little sounded more like the president of the small business association..

        ..than a labour party leader..

        ..and once again – the whole thing is that aspirational-bullshit politicians of all stripes so overindulge in..(and expect us to believe..)

        ..you could almost have a drinking game around every time little uses one of those entrepeneurial/business-buzzwords/phrases..

        ..you’d be pretty pissed by the end of the interview..

  16. Philip Ferguson 16
    16 May 2015 at 5:30 pm

    It’s a wet miserable weekend where I am.

    Good time for some meaty socialist educational reading:

    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/education-for-anti-capitalists/

  17. joe90 17
    16 May 2015 at 6:01 pm

    CNN’s Weed 3.

    Dr Sanjay Gupta docu series on cannabis

  18. weka 18
    16 May 2015 at 8:00 pm

    I’m surprised it’s lasted this long given its relative redness.

    Government to Close Dunedin

    Late last night the New Zealand Government announced it will be closing the city of Dunedin. With hindsight, people should perhaps have seen this coming when the decision was made to close the Dunedin hospital kitchen, and provide hospital meals and meals-on-wheels for the Otago area from a kitchen in Auckland. However, it was not until Dunedin was left off the itinerary for the government’s climate change targets consultation (which included smaller centres such as Gisborne, Rotorua and Invercargill), that the somewhat dim-witted denizens of Dunedin finally clicked to what was being planned.

    Today, Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce revealed that Otago University is to be closed. He explained the university is no longer necessary, as the government has signed a new contract for Lincoln University to provide distance-learning for people in Otago and Southland via a Skype link-up to church halls in Balclutha, Ohai and St Bathans.

    Prime Minister John Key said he understood that Dunedin had been a traditional homeland for Pakeha people for some time, but that did not make living there a legitimate lifestyle choice. The decision to close Dunedin will be announced in due course through all major New Zealand newspoapers, except the Otago Daily Times.

    With Auckland house prices rising so fast that only people on high incomes can afford to buy into even the cheapest suburbs, floodwaters closing arterial roads in Wellington, and the middle of Christchurch continuing to resemble a massive petanque court, and now the closure of Dunedin, Poseur magazine is warning Hamilton residents not to get too smug about their city’s fortunes, because they alone are doomed never to be hip.

    https://canofwormsopened.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/government-to-close-dunedin/

    • Maui 18.1
      16 May 2015 at 11:54 pm

      Maybe then they could put that flash stadium with the roof onto a few barges and ship it up to Auckland where it should of been in the first place.

  19. @Onoudid 19
    16 May 2015 at 10:54 pm

    If you type a youtube users account name, into google earth, while it’s in approximate correct local, it does strange, interesting, things…

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